title: Potential Use of Plectranthus amboinicus in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
abstract: Plectranthus amboinicus (P. amboinicus) is a folk herb that is used to treat inflammatory diseases or swelling symptoms in Taiwan. We investigated therapeutic efficacy of P. amboinicus in treating Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) using collagen-induced arthritis animal model. Arthritis was induced in Lewis rats by immunization with bovine type II collagen. Serum anti-collagen IgG, IgM and C-reactive protein (CRP) were analyzed. To understand the inflammation condition of treated animals, production of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β from peritoneal exudates cells (PEC) were also analyzed. P. amboinicus significantly inhibited the footpad swelling and arthritic symptoms in collagen-induced arthritic rats, while the serum anti-collagen IgM and CRP levels were consistently decreased. The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were also decreased in the high dosage of P. amboinicus group. Here, we demonstrate the potential anti-arthritic effect of P. amboinicus for treating RA, which might confer its anti-rheumatic activity. This differs the pharmacological action mode of indomethacin.
authors.affiliation: Chinese Herbal Medicine Program, Division of Research and Development, Development Center for Biotechnology, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Jia-Ming
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Chun-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Le-Mei
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Yuh-Shan
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Rey-Yuh
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Wu